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Eyes on Trade is a blog by the staff of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch (GTW) division. GTW aims to promote democracy by challenging corporate globalization, arguing that the current globalization model is neither a random inevitability nor "free trade." Eyes on Trade is a space for interested parties to share information about globalization and trade issues, and in particular for us to share our watchdogging insights with you! GTW director Lori Wallach's initial post explains it all.

March 15, 2013

On Anniversary of U.S.-Korea FTA Implementation, U.S. Exports Down 9 Percent, Imports from Korea Up and Deficit With Korea Swells 30 Percent, Undermining Obama Export and Job Growth Goals

Though U.S.-Korea
Free Trade Agreement Outcomes Are Abysmal, Obama Pushes for Trans-Pacific and
European Agreements Based on Same Model

WASHINGTON, D.C. –
The actual outcomes of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that took
effect one year ago, March 15, have been exactly the opposite of what the Obama
administration promised, Public Citizen said today. Despite government
data once again demonstrating the damage caused by yet another “trade”
agreement based on the model of the North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA), the Obama administration is trying to sell massive Trans-Pacific and
European agreements based on the same model with the same false promises.

U.S. export growth to countries with pacts like the U.S.-Korea FTA has
been particularly lackluster; growth of U.S. exports to countries that are
not FTA partners has exceeded U.S. export growth to countries that are FTA
partners by 38 percent over the past decade. In contrast to the Obama
administration’s promise that the U.S.-Korea FTA would mean “more exports, more
jobs,” U.S.
goods exports to Korea have dropped 9 percent (a $3.2 billion decrease) since
the Korea FTA took effect, in comparison to the same months in the year before
FTA implementation. U.S. imports from Korea have climbed 2 percent (an $800
million increase). The U.S. trade deficit with Korea has swelled 30 percent (a
$4 billion increase). The January data from the U.S. International Trade
Commission show that the U.S. trade deficit with Korea skyrocketed 81 percent
above December’s level, topping $2.4 billion – the largest monthly U.S. trade
deficit with Korea on record. The ballooning trade deficit indicates the loss
of tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.

“I suspect that most Americans are likely to be angry with the politicians who
got us into another one of these NAFTA-style deals, rather than surprised at
the damaging outcome. Polls show that majorities of U.S. independent,
Democratic and GOP voters consistently oppose these deals because they think
they are bad for their families and the American economy,” said Lori Wallach,
director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. “The Obama administration is
inviting the public to focus on the debacle of its Korea Free Trade Agreement
by using the same failed claims to push a Trans-Pacific FTA with 10 Asian and
Latin American nations that is literally based on the Korea FTA text.”

The decline in U.S. exports under the Korea FTA contributed to an overall disappointing
U.S. export performance in 2012, placing the United States far behind
Obama’s stated goal to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014. At the sluggish
2012 export growth rate of 2 percent, the United States will not achieve the
president’s goal until 2032, 18 years behind schedule.

“The data show that these Obama administration-supported FTAs are undermining
the national goals set by the president of boosting our exports, reviving U.S.
manufacturing and creating American jobs,” said Wallach. “This kind of data
makes everyone wonder just why the administration keeps pushing so-called
‘trade’ agreements like the Korea FTA, and now the Trans-Pacific Partnership,
that facilitate offshoring, ban Buy American provisions and erode manufacturing
jobs, utterly contradicting the president’s domestic agenda.”

Many of the sectors that the Obama administration promised would be the biggest
beneficiaries of the Korea FTA have actually been some of the deal’s largest
losers. U.S. pork exports to Korea have declined 18 percent under the FTA
relative to the same months in the year before FTA implementation, while beef
exports have fallen 9 percent and poultry exports have plunged 41 percent.
While U.S. auto exports to Korea have increased 7 percent under the FTA, U.S.
auto imports from Korea have surged 17 percent, causing an 18 percent rise in
the U.S. auto trade deficit with Korea.

Comments

Many thanks for your work on this issue.

Are you aware of evidence illustrating that these export losses have indeed translated into job losses--would be interested in seeing how job loss figures are tied to these export losses (for instance in the pork, beef and poultry sectors that you mention) and calculated.